Untitled Quiz

Leadership (II)

• Clearly different styles of change management are essential for different managers' personalities and circumstances
• Time and scope: Centralised control approaches may be suitable for transformational change
• Capability and readiness for change: Leadership styles vary based on employee ability and willingness to change
• Different styles for different contexts:
  • Low readiness/low capability: Direct approach is best
  • High readiness/low capability: Education and training is suitable
  • Low readiness/high capability: Involve personnel in the process while maintaining control
  • High readiness/high capability: Collaboration possible, and delegation likely
• Power: Directive styles are common in hierarchical power structures but collaboration is preferred in flatter structures
• Styles of managing change are not mutually exclusive
• Education and communication may be beneficial for stakeholders
• Financial institutions may benefit from participation in the change process
• Timing may demand a more directive approach to change implementation

Different Styles for Different Contexts (continued)

• Leaders need a compelling case for change, appealing to a wide range of motivations
• Case for change should not be solely focused on shareholder expectations or competition, but also consider impacts on society, customers and employees well-being.
• A compelling case needs to relate to varied bases for motivation, not just managerial perceptions

Challenging the Taken-for-Granted

• A major challenge is resisting the need to change long-standing mindsets and assumptions
• Careful strategic analysis can challenge and change the existing paradigm
• Longstanding assumptions can be resistant to change
• Encouraging people to question existing assumptions and received wisdom is a good approach
• Re-interpreting received wisdom is useful to change ingrained concepts
• Scenario planning aids in overcoming personal and cultural assumptions for assessing possible future implications
• senior managers may be detached from organizational realities (train in the economy to bridge)

Changing Operational Processes and Routines

• Strategies are delivered through daily operational processes and routines; formalized/codified.
• Operational process and routines are important considerations of strategic change
• Understanding the relationship between strategic change and daily processes in at least four aspects, planning operational change and challenging assumptions
• Involve people in change process/retain control/or maintain participation
• Identify key changes in routines to implement the strategy
• Challenge assumptions underpinning the change
• Changing behaviours to impact assumed values and beliefs
• Operations-led change = outcome of strategic planning/innovation
• Bottom-up changes to routines can occur proactively – bending existing rules to introduce new ones –Support from stakeholders is important
• Challenging the status quo may actively change the norms

Symbolic Changes

• Change levers can be symbolic
• Symbols (objects, activities, individuals) can hold meaning beyond literal understanding
• Everyday things are symbols conveying meanings in specific contexts
• Symbolic changes can help to reshape beliefs, redefine expectations, and signal change within the workplace
• Changes in physical aspects can be a symbol of change (offices, uniforms)
• The behaviour of key decision-makers is often a crucial symbol of change
• Change language should align with the change agenda, rather than adhering to status quo or reluctance to change

Organisational Rituals and Change

• Rituals signal and reinforce change
• Rites of passage signify change in status/roles
• Rites of enhancement recognizes efforts/motivate others
• Rites of renewal is important to reassure of change initiatives/attention to issues
• Rites of integration encourage commitment, reasserting standards
• Rites of conflict reduction reduces conflict and aggression
• Rites of challenge encourages disagreement and innovation

Power and Political Systems

• Considering strategic change in the political context is necessary
• Strong support from individuals or groups may be needed, or changes to power structures might be needed, especially for transformational change
• Acquiring influential resources is crucial to sway others
• Association with powerful stakeholders is useful
• Building networks with sympathetic parties is helpful to overcome resistance

Political Mechanisms in Organisations

• Activity areas (e.g., building power base, overcoming resistance, achieving compliance) need distinct resources (e.g. control of resources, additional resources, withdrawal of resources)
• Different forms of support by elites are crucial to success
• Building alliances and support is important for successful change initiatives
• Overcoming resistance/ Achieving compliance requires strong management/leadership decisions
• There may be problems from identifying support for initial change that need to be addressed to continue change
• Resources may need to be allocated strategically to support change initiatives
• Leaders face challenges with timing, speed and implementation of change

Hazards in Political Aspects

• Lack of power to initiate change is a significant problem
• Change efforts should be carefully balanced to avoid destructive or overly long initiatives
• Key beliefs and strategies need to support the change process
• Gaining commitment from senior executives can be insufficient to support widespread adoption in the organization

Change Tactics: Timing

• Building on actual or perceived crises can aid in initiating or accelerating change
• Perceived risk of maintaining the status quo vs making the change can influence how people view change
• Focusing on the right time of change is significant
• Key times of opportunity such as new leadership, successful products, and competitive threats are useful for encouraging or instigating change
• Symbolic message regarding timing of change is important; avoiding conflicting messages about timings is vital.

Visible Short-Term Wins

• Success often depends on small visible short-term achievements
• These small victories can motivate participation and commitment
• Short-term success can generate momentum for broader change
• Targeting ‘low-hanging fruit’ that yield rapid payoff is crucial to sustaining interest and generating financial success

Managing Strategic Change Programmes

• Choice of change levers is critical, there's no single formula for management success, and context is key
• Addressing resistance and fostering buy-in are critical
• Emphasising behavioural compliance and winning hearts and minds can strengthen ownership of change

Turnaround Strategy

• Emphasizes rapid reconstruction and significant improvements
• Typically involves cost reduction and revenue generation
• A directive approach is frequently needed
• Management changes, and the arrival of new leadership are likely necessary for facilitating change

Main Elements of Turnaround Strategies

• Regaining control, often through crisis stabilization, is crucial
• Revenue increase and cost reduction are two main focus areas.
• Management changes are frequently needed, due to past failures
• New leadership and expertise from outside the organization is often beneficial
• Gaining stakeholder support and clarifying target markets are essential parts of the strategy.
• Financial restructuring is often needed for major change initiatives

Turnaround Revenue Generation and Cost Reduction Steps

• Increase in revenue through appropriate marketing strategies to target segments
• Pricing strategies to maximise revenue
• Identifying new or unused opportunities to create revenue streams
• Cost reduction through controlling expenses (labour/senior management/marketing) – improved productivity
• Improved financial control
• Establish competitive bidding for supply/reduce vendor costs

Managing Revolutionary Strategic Change

• Revolutionary change differs from turnaround
• Culture change is an important part of revolutionary change and may be necessary because of decades or years of consistent decline.
• Organizational members may not recognize or desire the change

Managing Evolutionary Strategic Change

• Incremental transformation is key
• It is about building organizational capacity for perpetual change and learning
• Empowering the organization to accept responsibility for change and innovation is essential
• Establish clear vision, guidelines, strategies and processes
• Continual change and experimentation is essential across the organization

Trying to Achieve Change in Practice

• Phases of transition are important (interim stages)
• Establishing the conditions for change before implementing large-scale change is essential
• Recognize that changes can be irreversible
• Sustained commitment from top management is pivotal
• Gaining employee buy-in and hearts and minds through consistent commitment is needed
• Proper signalling of the change initiative through a clear articulation of the reasoning for change

Why Change Programmes Fail

• Death by planning: Too much emphasis on planning and not enough action
• Loss of focus: Change initiatives too scattered focus on several unrelated goals
• Reinterpretation: The change message is misconstrued in the company culture
• Disconnectedness: The need for change does not align with the organizational reality
• Behavioural compliance: People may comply superficially without full commitment
• Misreading scrutiny and resistance: The resistance is misinterpreted; those resisting or scrutinizing are seen as problematic.
• Broken agreements/violations of trust: Broken promises from leadership undermines trust in the change process